Sunday, September 28, 2008

Last week I posted a video of me making Peach Chutney as part of a larger Indian Feast - Indian food is so complex and delicious; it's also easy to make at home. It also is a great way to cook vegetarian - I never think I'm missing anything (like fish or meat) when I have a good Indian meal.

my Peach Chutney- this is something I make from my head but here is guideline to follow.

Peaches in season are so wonderful you want to have them all year around, making and putting up this chutney is one way to do that. Not only is it great as an accompany to meat, fish or curries it is great with a grilled cheese sandwich or just a piece of cheddar.

In a cast iron skillet add:2tsp cumin seeds, 2tsp black mustard seeds and cook over medium heat until the cumin seeds brown and the mustard seeds start to pop.
Add:1/4 cup of canola oil or ghee (Indian clarified butter) to the frying pan with the seeds in it.
Stir in:2 medium onions chopped roughly
Saute until the onions have wilted and become translucent - about 10 minutes over a medium heat. Add:4-6 finely mined garlic cloves. Cook for two minutes until the garlic has been incorporated and wilted but not browned.

Stir in:2 hot peppers chopped roughly with seeds in (I use Jalapeno but Serrano or Thai would be fine. If you are heat sensitive remove seeds - the Thai peppers are the hottest of the three list Jalepeno the mildest.)

Simmer over medium low heat for about an hour or until the mixture has gotten thick and jam like. I like for there to still be chunks of fruit so the spicy sour sweet chutney has a burst of fresh fruit flavor every time you bite into some Peach.

TASTE IT and re-season to your liking. You may want to add a titch of salt or adjust the sugar/vinegar ratio. This is my basic guideline I encourage you to take it and run. I like to add freshly grated black pepper at the end and if I use Peaches 1 Teaspoon of dried ginger as well as the fresh.

It is a great staple - don't let the Indian ingredients scare you off. Here's a great resource:

About Me

Urbanfoodguy aka Mark Owen Self taught cook with an environmental/political bent. 28 years of cooking experience. I live in Manhattan on the Lower East Side in an apartment with an amazing kitchen thanks to my partner of 21 + years, Neil. In the last 4 years I have focused more and more on food. It started at the same time as I was about to open up my import/retail business LaoLao Handmade. Over these years I have been a private chef, catering and 4 years of Food Styling. I've worked for most of the major food magazines such as : Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, Real Simple, Oprah, Martha Stewart's Everyday Food and many more. Check out this site for some photos of my work. I've also worked in the prep kitchen for the Food Network with Bobby Flay and Paula Dean.